Goodness me – what a comment – this was a face in palm moment if I have ever had one! 
The second face in palm moment happened when I read the articles relating to the claims that we need to eat at least 7 portions of fruit and vegetables…as it will stop us dying! Well, the words used by the BBC were, ‘A study of 65,226 men and women indicated the more fruit and vegetables people ate, the less likely they were to die – at any given age.’ Sorry to break it to you…but we’re all going to die…at some age!
The problem I have with these types of studies is that they make vast sweeping claims yet never give the true picture. For example, those who ate more fruit and veggies lived longer…but it doesn’t give any additional information about the lives of these people – how much exercise they take, how much processed food they eat, do they smoke excessively, do they drink excessively? The study authors tried to take some of these issues into account…but didn’t really do an in-depth job, or certainly not in-depth enough for us all to rush to cram in extra fruit and veggies in the hopes that this will help.
We all know that a healthy lifestyle is better for us. The includes taking some form of regular exercise, eating a well-balanced diet rich in whole-foods, keeping a check on mental and physical health. Eating an apple whilst smoking a ciggie on your sofa and drinking a vodka is unlikely to extend your life! 
The Independent stated that scientists raised concerns about reading too much into the link because the researchers were not able to rule out other aggravating factors, such as poor access to fresh groceries or pre-existing health conditions.
Dr Gunter Kuhnle, a food scientist from the University of Reading, said: “It’s possible that eating tinned fruits are an indicator of high sugar intake, but it might also be a marker of poverty or lower socioeconomic class. As there is no data, it’s simply not possible to speculate.”
I think that the NHS summed up the findings nicely in their response to the study.
For me, being healthier comes at a cost. I do not care what anyone says, but it costs more to take the healthy route. Today for example, Mr WLB picked up a Nakd bar for 65p. This bar is basically fruits and nuts smooshed together…a healthier option than the bag of apple donuts that he picked up for the guys decorating my sisters house…the donuts cost 50p. 65p for a single bar to feed one…50p for a snack that would feed five. Two healthy option Quorn burgers cost £2.25 in Asda…or you can buy a box of 8 not so healthy burgers for £1.10. Please note that this little snapshot is about as in-depth as the article about fruit and veggie consumption! But I think I make a small point…it’s hard to chose the healthier option if cost is an issue…unless you want to traipse around every supermarket in town to hunt down the bargains. It’s not an excuse…it’s reality…it can be done, but it makes the job harder!
My feeling is that the people who lived longer eating more fruit and veggies lived longer because they have better lives in general. Zoe Harcombe made an interesting point in her write-up about this research, ‘This isn’t just about fruit and veg – it’s about a whole lifestyle of advantaged people and disadvantaged people. Do researchers really think that we could take a Glaswegian man or woman – with a life expectancy of 71.6 and 78 respectively – and give them the life expectancy of the men and women in Kensington and Chelsea – 85.1 and 89.8 respectively – with extra portions of fruit and vegetables? May I suggest that the fruit and veg intake is a marker of a healthy lifestyle and not the maker of one?’
So the original face in palm moment made me chuckle…’there aren’t even 7 types of fruit and veg!’ was the comment made by one reader of an article. I had to double-check and make sure it wasn’t before noon on 1st April!
There are ways to get extra veggies in. I give Mr WLB fruit with his breakfast, the occasional glass of smoothie, and 7 cherry tomatoes with his lunch as this is classed as a portion. I won’t give portion suggestions as you can find this out for yourself and I refuse to insult your intelligence. I give Mr WLB his stuff as I am sure he think a vegetable stuffed crust counts as 1 of his 5 a day!
That’s it from me today then…not much to report. I woke feeling a bit run down – a sore throat and runny nose…so the mini gym holiday is well-timed. I had a good gym session this morning though and a programme review with my trainer – more interval training being snuck in there, which is good fun! A trip to the horses – which saw my dog rolling in fox poop and stinking my car out, then the wheelbarrow I put in the car leaked rusty water everywhere – but the horses seem happy to be home. I then went and babysat for my sister…my niece had dropped a can of paint on the floor and my sister needed to go and look for a new carpet! And tonight I had a mini coaching call…mini because my broadband was playing up – has been playing up all day – and my Skype was dicey. So that’s Orange being told off at some point soon. Tonight I am watching Person of Interest and then going to bed!
Breakfast: Banana porridge (5 syns).
Lunch: Cheesy egg pittas with herb salad (2 x HEA and 2 x HEB).
Dinner: Veggie rice.
Snacks: Kallo rice cakes (9 syns).
My usual brekkie, followed by scrambled egg pittas with cheese and salad for lunch. Dinner was a pack of savoury rice with spices, chilli, and garlic and some tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, onions. And my rice cakes as a snack…which I have to confess to eating before dinner as I was bloody hungry today!
Exercise: 25 minutes elliptical machine, 40 minutes leg weights, 5 minutes treadmill.
Thank you for reading,
Weight Loss Bitch xxx
WeightLossBitch
On a health and fitness driven journey to lose over 32st / 448lbs / 203kgs – yes, it is a considerable amount – I am committed to losing my excess weight without the aid of weight loss surgery, diet pills, or quick fixes…as there aren’t any! Changing my eating habits and building up my fitness levels, along with addressing the ‘head issues’ will be crucial in order for me to achieve my goal. Living in England as a 31 year old super morbidly obese woman can be challenging to say the least. I have been shouted at in the street and verbally abused far too many times to mention; hence the name ‘Weight Loss Bitch’…the day I am just called a ‘bitch’ instead of a ‘fat bitch’ will be the day that I know I have cracked my weight loss! With many reasons to lose this weight I am documenting my journey for a number of reasons. Firstly, I would like to keep a record of the ups and downs, the highs and lows, and the challenges I face with such an enormous task to tackle. Secondly, I would also like to inspire and encourage other people who are in a similar situation and to show them that significant amounts of weight can be lost naturally…with a bit of motivation, hard work, dedication and will power. Thirdly, all of the blogging, Facebook-ing, Tweet-ing, Pinterest-ing and YouTube-ing keeps me occupied and keeps my fingers out of the fridge!
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